Given the increasingly extensive use of drifting fish aggregation devices (FADs) by the purse-seine fisheries targeting tropical tunas, fishing effort restrictions have been introduced to manage tropical tuna stocks. However, these measures are focused on the protection of juvenile tunas and do not take account of the potential impact on bycatch or associated megafauna (whales and whale sharks). An iterative “fishing-day” Monte Carlo simulation model was developed to investigate the consequences on tropical tunas and bycatch of introducing extensive area 6-month moratoria on FAD activities. The model allowed for variability in a range of plausible values of the parameters characterizing the fishing operations conducted by European purse-seiners in the eastern tropical Atlantic and western Indian Oceans for the period 2005-2014. Monte Carlo simulations, using probabilities based on these fishery data, were carried out for the French and Spanish fishing fleets separately to account for differences in fishing strategies. The models predicted a decrease in FAD sets and an increase in free school sets. As a consequence, the catch of small tuna (<10 kg) decreased while the catch of large tuna (>= 10 kg) increased, leading to an overall increase in tuna catch of 100-200 tons/year/vessel in the Atlantic Ocean, and a decrease of 400-1500 tons/year/vessel in the Indian Ocean. The bycatch decreased in the Indian Ocean, while in the Atlantic Ocean billfishes, turtles and chondrichthyans bycatch increased slightly and other bony fishes decreased. Because fishing practices were modified, whale and whale shark associated sets increased slightly in the Indian Ocean.

Groups or aggregations of animals can result from individuals being attracted to a common resource or because of synchronised patterns of daily or seasonal activity. Although mostly solitary throughout its distribution, white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) seasonally aggregate at a number of sites worldwide to feed on calorie-rich pinnipeds. At the Neptune Islands, South Australia, large numbers of white sharks can be sighted throughout the year, including during periods of low seal abundance. We use a combination of photo-identification and network analysis based on co-occurrence of individuals visiting the site on the same day to elucidate the population structure and aggregatory behaviour of Australia's largest aggregation of sub-adult and adult white sharks. We photo-identified 282 sharks (183 males, 97 females, 2 unknown) over a 4.5-year period (June 2010-November 2014) and found that white sharks did not randomly co-occur with their conspecifics, but formed four distinct communities. Tendency to co-occur varied across months with males co-occurring with more individuals than females. Sex-dependent patterns of visitation at the Neptune Islands and resulting intraspecific competition likely drive the observed community structure and temporal variability in co-occurrences. This study provides new insights into the aggregatory behaviour of white sharks at a seal colony and shows for the first time that white shark co-occurrence can be non-random.

In French Polynesia, both currently recognized manta ray species, Mobula alfredi and M. birostris, are observed. Despite being an important cultural asset and generating significant economic benefits through manta ray watching tourism, published data on the ecology and threats to these species in the region are scarce. Based on an 18-year dataset of sighting records collected by citizen scientists and during two scientific expeditions, this study provides the first insights into the population characteristics and regional distribution of the two manta ray species in French Polynesia. A total of 1347 manta ray photographs (1337 for M. alfredi and 10 for M. birostris) were examined for the period January 2001-December 2017, with photo-identification techniques leading to the successful identification of 317 individual M. alfredi and 10 individual M. birostris throughout the Society, Tuamotu and Marquesas Islands. We provide the first confirmation of sympatric distribution of both species in the Society Islands. Our results highlight strong and long-term site fidelity of M. alfredi individuals to certain aggregation sites (> 9 years for 16 individuals) and reveal some degree of connectivity between populations, with 10 individuals recorded moving between islands located up to 50 km apart. Analysis of photographs of individuals bearing sub-lethal injuries (n = 68) suggests that M. alfredi are more likely to be injured at inhabited islands (Maupiti or Bora Bora; 75% of all injured individuals) than at uninhabited islands, with 75% of injuries related to boat propeller strikes and fishing gear entanglements. Our findings emphasize the need for further research to allow for a comprehensive evaluation of population structure, size and threats to manta rays in this region.

Knowing the spatial scales at which effective management can be implemented is fundamental for conservation planning. This is especially important for mobile species, which can be exposed to threats across large areas, but the space use requirements of different species can vary to an extent that might render some management approaches inefficient. Here the space use patterns of seabirds were examined to provide guidance on whether conservation management approaches should be tailored for taxonomic groups with different movement characteristics. Seabird tracking data were synthesised from 5419 adult breeding individuals of 52 species in ten families that were collected in the Atlantic Ocean basin between 1998 and 2017. Two key aspects of spatial distribution were quantified, namely how far seabirds ranged from their colony, and to what extent individuals from the same colony used the same areas at sea. There was evidence for substantial differences in patterns of space-use among the ten studied seabird families, indicating that several alternative conservation management approaches are needed. Several species exhibited large foraging ranges and little aggregation at sea, indicating that area-based conservation solutions would have to be extremely large to adequately protect such species. The results highlight that short-ranging and aggregating species such as cormorants, auks, some penguins, and gulls would benefit from conservation approaches at relatively small spatial scales during their breeding season. However, improved regulation of fisheries, bycatch, pollution and other threats over large spatial scales will be needed for wide-ranging and dispersed species such as albatrosses, petrels, storm petrels and frigatebirds.

Micronekton distributions and assemblages were investigated at two shallow seamounts of the south-western Indian Ocean using a combination of trawl data and a multi-frequency acoustic visualisation technique. La Pa rouse seamount (summit depth similar to 60 m) is located on the outskirts of the oligotrophic Indian South Subtropical Gyre (ISSG) province with weak mesoscale activities and low primary productivity all year round. The “MAD-Ridge” seamount (thus termed in this study; similar to 240 m) is located in the productive East African Coastal (EAFR) province with high mesoscale activities to the south of Madagascar. Higher micronekton species richness was recorded at MAD-Ridge compared to La Perouse. Resulting productivity at MAD-Ridge seamount was likely due to the action of mesoscale eddies advecting productivity and larvae from the Madagascar shelf rather than local dynamic processes such as Taylor column formation. Mean micronekton abundance/biomass, as estimated from mesopelagic trawl catches, were lower over the summit compared to the vicinity of the seamounts, due to net selectivity and catchability and depth gradient on micronekton assemblages. Mean acoustic densities in the night shallow scattering layer (SSL: 10-200 m) over the summit were not significantly different compared to the vicinity (within 14 nautical miles) of MAD-Ridge. At La Perouse and MAD-Ridge, the night and day SSL were dominated by common diel vertically migrant and non-migrant micronekton species respectively. While seamount-associated mesopelagic fishes such as Diaphus suborbitalis (La Perouse and MAD-Ridge) and Benthosema fibula= performed diel vertical migrations (DVM) along the seamounts' flanks, seamount-resident benthopelagic fishes, including Cookeolus japonicus (MAD-Ridge), were aggregated over MAD-Ridge summit. Before sunrise, mid-water migrants initiated their vertical migration from the intermediate to the deep scattering layer (DSL, La Perouse: 500-650 m; MAD-Ridge: 400-700 m) or deeper. During sunrise, the other taxa contributing to the night SSL exhibited a series of vertical migration events from the surface to the DSL or deeper until all migrants have reached the DSL before daytime. Possible mechanisms leading to the observed patterns in micronekton vertical and horizontal distributions are discussed. This study contributes to a better understanding of how seamounts influence the DVM, horizontal distribution and community composition of micronekton and seamount-associated/resident species at two poorly studied shallow topographic features in the south-western Indian Ocean.